Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Fixing What's Broken

September 23, 2015

It's all fixed now, but yesterday took its toll on man and machinery. I was mowing the lawn, a task not normally noted for excitement or entertainment, but I was on our new mower which has a roll bar on the back. Roll bars are thought to be safety devices, but in my limited experience, they serve a much more sinister purpose. A few weeks ago, Linda was mowing, and as she usually does, ducked under a low branch on the Japanese maple that winter killed. The roll bar snagged a branch which being dead, broke off and whacked her in the back of the head. So much for safety!

Yesterday as I mowed the edge of the property, I tried a similar tactic. There was no low hanging branch, but the roll bar was just the right height to snag a sumac about three inches in diameter, breaking it off and depositing it on my left shoulder. I stopped, dismounted, lifted the sumac from the tractor, and continued mowing. A single turn around the yard later, that same roll bar caught the sign for Bill's Gun and Saddle shop, ripping it from its post and tossing it on the ground. Then I hit a rock. The deck shuddered, then clattered with a "ting-ting-ting" as the blade hit the bent guard. It was time to quit for the day.

Today I installed the new turn signal replacing the one I completely tore off the roll bar when I dragged the sumac down on myself. Yes, that's right, not only did I smack my shoulder, that tree completely severed the turn signal. Fifty bucks later, it looks like new again. Than, after three false starts, I managed to hammer out the offending guard so the deck could quietly go about its business. As usual, a job that should have taken an hour and a half took a day and a half. That's life in the fast lane around here!

Stuff can be fixed or replaced. I am grateful to have the time, and a modicum of skill to do it. There is a certain satisfaction in being able to fix the messes I get myself into. Eleven years ago when Park church went through deep waters, I asked my boss for the opportunity to put back together what fell apart on my watch. I was given that opportunity, and am forever grateful to have been able to hand over to my successor a healthy church. Far too often, the problems of a former pastor are dumped into the lap of his successor who is often ill-equipped to deal with them. I've gotten myself into more than a few predicaments over the years, but am grateful that God didn't let me escape their consequences and gave me the privilege of righting wrongs. There are few things more satisfying than fixing a problem, especially when it's a problem you yourself caused. I got to do that today, and got to do it over the past ten years. Fixing what you broke isn't always easy, but it is always gratifying.

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